The 4 Navy SEALs who brought them home: Apollo 11's splashdown and what happened next

When thinking back to the Apollo 11 mission, the things that immediately come to mind are Neil Armstrong’s inspiring first words broadcast from the moon and the lasting image of the crew planting a U.S. flag on the dusty lunar surface.

However, very few people nowadays remember a four-person team of courageous Navy SEALs who had made the astronauts’ safe return possible 43 years ago.

On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 capsule plummeted from space and landed in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 miles off the coast of Hawaii. Four young service members handpicked for their strength and swimming abilities arrived on the scene of the splashdown to bring the first humans to walk on the surface of the moon to safety.
---

Click to expand...